Schools failing to comply with legal obligation to manage asbestos, say asbestos testers

A survey by the  the Asbestos Testing and Consultancy Association (ATCA) has found that many schools have “unacceptable” standards of asbestos management and that many are failing to meet their legal obligation to properly manage the risks.

Asbestos is present in thousands of schools throughout the country, but poses the greatest risk to health when it is disturbed and breaks into fine particles. The ATCA's audit of 100 school premises found that some schools have already have asbestos in the air, while others were allowing poor management practices such as allowing workmen to disturb asbestos material. Some schools, it said, rely on management plans which are more than a decade old, while others have no plans in place at all, the Independent on Sunday reported.

The ATCA's preliminary report of its audit said that most schools are failing to comply with their legal "duty to manage" the asbestos, and that staff training on the issue was poor.

Asbestos has been blamed for a variety of diseases, including the cancer mesothelioma which has been the subject of a significant number of workplace compensation claims in the past 10 years.